Jude 2

Okay, I have a question that I would appreciate some honest answers from you pastors (and others if you have something to share)... Let's say you are the new pastor of a church that you are not familiar with (you live in another part of the world), you don't know past history of the membership, church heritage or any of this stuff....Everything you know about this church is stuff that you have been told.... Would you be offended if a member that has been at this church all of their life came to you about a leadership decision that you were about to make that could be devastating to the outreach in your community? Would you listen to the advice given and continue to put this person into leadership? Would you think about how the community feels about this person? Oh, and by the way, this person about to take a leadership role has just recently re-dedicated their life to Christ.... Give me your opinions....

cndlu,....

It's hard to answer this question without a whole lot more information......
but my rule of thumb is always....


"Never monkey with another monkey's monkey."

Translation: I wouldn't tell another pastor how to pastor his church without his asking me for advice.

As a concerned member, I might want to let him know there are concerns.

Very difficult issue.

zactly
too many variables.
and trunk monkeys don't work for church stuff.

Would I listen to the person with the concern? Yes. Would that stop me from doing what I felt was right? Not necessarily, but as others have said there are too many variables here.

I did have an entire family at one church I pastored that I could not use in leadership roles...They all had some shady dealings (business) in the community. I just loved them the best I could and prayed for them.

Dr. Ron has given the best advice.

Every situation is different, things are never simple enough from all angles to sum up in a few paragraphs, and this doesn't even take into consideration the fact that God sometimes leads in ways that make no sense, but He knows best.

What is the size of this church?

Let's say some guy moves from, like "Ohio" to a different region -- like, say, the deep south. Let's -- just for sake of this discussion -- imagine that that guy took over as pastor at a new church and felt the need to shake things up, to depart from the status quo... maybe he even (*GASP*) prayed about some new direction and felt that God was directing him to make some decisions likely to surprise or dismay the people who have been at the church a long time... imagine that.

I'm kind of messing with you, friend, but I can only see through the eyes of the pastor, since that is my perspective, and as a pastor, I have made some decisions, used some people, started/ended some programs that drew criticism, but when I felt that I was obeying the Lord's direction I stuck to my guns, because I had no options.

As for the specifics of this example, you stated that: "this person about to take a leadership role has just recently re-dedicated their life to Christ." How long should that new creation in Christ Jesus be required to wait, and how would they go about proving themselves in order to be used again?

Pastors are in the people-change business, and we really, truly believe in second-chances. If I, if we, did not believe that a person who had once failed could be reborn, renewed, and once again be an instrument of God's purpose, I'd give this up and get a secular job.

Thank you for your input... I really don't feel as if I can give the specifics... but I will say God has taken care of my concerns...